hi everyone,as you know we got another gsd a couple of weeks ago.He is a fantastic dog,he has fitted into our family no worries........except that the ratbag has started digging rather large holes in the garden.What does one do to discourage this behaviour,i'm a little weary as he has only just come into our lives and home. We have some new photos of Mac ,we will put them up later. hope you are all having a great day......Claire& Alex

Hi Alex & Claire, I use cayanne pepper it works a treat on my dogs. My young shepherd Chloe came to me as a rescue dog so scared that she wouldn't do anything. In april I started her at agility & this has built her confidence. So much so that a couple of months ago she started acting like a puppy as she had never had the chance to. She started digging the biggest holes that you have ever seem, I'd fill them in put something over the top of them but next day there was another next to it. So out came the cayanne pepper (which I used on my first shepherd years ago) & sprinkled it all over the holes she had dug & I'm pleased to say she has stopped digging now. Hope this is of some use to you.

Hi Claire & Alex,

I have two Shepherds, my four year old boy Tyr (Teer) has never dug a hole since we got him. But Jarna she's 18 months old and she has helped dig up my gardens around the section, she would pick a spot at least once a week for ages and dig up the same hole to her hearts content! When ever I found a hole I would call her and say no in a deap voice at the same time filling the hole back in and she would know that I disliked what she had done. Her muddy paws and nose was the tell tail sign. Fingers crossed and touch wood she hasn't dug any holes for at least 3 months now. So good luck, I know how it feels. Liz the cayanne pepper is a good idea. Thanks I will try that if it happens again.

Regards
Diane, Tyr & Jarna

Thanks you guys,it gets really frustrating.He is so cute and so loveable,it's amazing how they can melt you with their gentle faces and innocent look.I have replanted at least three minature aggies this week and found dirt being sprayed over the tramp as our newest furbie dug a hole to china by the tramp.I was wondering if mac was lonely as he had alot of other dogs for company at the kennels we got him from,even though they spent their days in a cage/kennel.He has three cats to torment and tolerate.......Claire

I haven't actually tried this myself but I know others who have had success in burying the dog's faeces in the holes he has dug. Apparently won't dig that up! The other thing they hate the smell of if citronella. Try spraying an old cloth and bury that in the holes. We had to fence off our garden for Kala (she even pulled an outside tap out of the wall) We just got over that and Shelby arrived! It's no good telling him off when you see the hole or when you get home - he has no association even if you take him to the hole and tell him off - he'll look at it as if to say - 'Yeah it's a hole - so?' If you can catch him at it that's when the correction will be most effective.

I have tried the burying of the faeces trick & it worked on my old Lab. Also bury some moth balls or napthylene flakes, tied up in a piece of muslin (or similar). They dont like the smell at all ; works on cats as well :-)

Another trick is to blow up a balloon (after you have added a bit of water), bury that in the hole they have dug - the water keeps it weighted down - when they next dig, they pop the balloon and get a face full of water and stops them going back to dig.
I used this with Maya when she went through a phase of wanting to bring the washing off the line. With her being deaf I could not reprimand her in the usual way so I got some long balloons and filled them with water and encased it in the sleeve of an old sweatshirt and left the 'bait' hanging. She got caught a beauty, face full of water. My washing has been completely safe since.

How is the digging problem Alex & Claire?

Hi Denise,he seems to have got the message with the digging at the moment,we are now finding clothes strewn all over the back yard.He's such a ratbag,i'm finding him with clothes in his mouth and really growling him as i catch him, hopefully this will sort him out. He is really chewing on things at the moment so he is obviously teething. He is very protective of us as a family and we have had to put him in his kennel when friends or family come over, have you got any helpful tips with this??????? Hope you have all had an awesome day.
claire

What do you mean he is very protective of you. What does he do. Putting him away is not going to solve the problem. He needs to learn to deal with it. He is a bit young to be 'very protective'. Sounds like he is being more territorial of HIS kennel and you have to let him know it is YOUR kennel. I do need to know what behaviour he shows though as we can't put anyone at risk.
He should alert bark when people come in, YOU take charge and he should accept visitors in YOUR kennel.
Let me know exactly his behaviour